Mike Plante
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Recovering Family Memories through The Polaroid Job
I love this short — The Polaroid Job — now up on the New York Times Op Doc page by producer, director and Sundance shorts programmer Mike Plante. A trip home to visit his parents leads to Plante sifting through stacks of their old Polaroids, photos that not only document family moments but also a family business. For a short time, while Plante was 11, his parents had “the Polaroid job,” a gig that involved taking a large-format Polaroid camera to various events — a store opening, a haunted house, etc. — and taking pictures of attendees posing with various […]
by Scott Macaulay on Oct 26, 2017 -
“Shorter is Better”: Sundance Programmer Mike Plante Offers Advice on Short Film Strategy at the Sundance NEXT Festival
A calling card to showcase proficiency and ambition, a vehicle to find resources for a larger project, or simply the most appropriate, or simply cost effective, way to tell a story, short films continue to be crucial for the development and discovery of emerging storytellers. The lack of access to more substantial budgets and the relative democratization of the medium via new technologies are major reasons why filmmakers continue to rely on short form narratives to fine-tune their craft at a lower risk. Today, festivals are receiving more and more short film submissions, making standing out from the pack increasingly […]
by Carlos Aguilar on Aug 23, 2016 -
Stream or Screen: Are Film Festivals Still Worth It for Short Films?
Before the advent of streaming platforms, the festival circuit was practically the only option for distributing short form content. You’d ship your finished film off to Sundance and pray for that acceptance letter — and maybe even a feature deal made at the festival. But while some of today’s filmmakers still hold tight to that romantic ideal, others are capitalizing on the visibility and fan cultivation teased by the online sphere. They argue against festival submission fees and pricey DCP shipments and for the simplicity of an online premiere on Vimeo, YouTube, NoBudge, Fandor or another platform where audiences are […]
by Sarah Salovaara on Apr 28, 2015 -
Super 8
1. Elevision Currently in beta, the short film download site Elevision (elevision.com) is the brainchild of former Wholphin creative director Malcolm Pullinger and Vimeo founder Jake Lodwick. It has a highly curated slate, with quirky titles like Quentin Dupieux’s Wrong Cops: Chapter One and The Arm, co-written and co-directed by Brie Larson. There’s also an embarrassment of riches from “25 New Faces” alums, including Palimpsest (Michael Tyburski and Ben Nabors), Rougarouing (Donal Mosher and Michael Palmieri), A Chjàna (Jonas Carpignano), Pioneer (David Lowery) and Life and Freaky Times of Uncle Luke (Jillian Mayer and Lucas Leyva). 2. Marmoset Portland’s indie […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Oct 21, 2013 -
DRUNK PODCASTING AT CREATIVE CAPITAL
The above scene at the Creative Capital retreat this weekend brought back a lot of memories. The arts funding organization’s semi-annual retreat was held at Williams College in Williamstown Massachusetts, and on the final evening the outdoor barbecue got drizzled out. So, it was moved indoors, and afterwards the cafeteria space became a party space, where artist grantees and consultants danced to Soft Cell’s “Tainted Love.” A level up, Cinemad’s Mike Plante set up his microphones and recorded a podcast. The ’80s music, the party, and radio — it was like one of my own evenings in college, where I’d […]
by Scott Macaulay on Jul 31, 2012 -
SUNDANCE ANIMATORS IN ACTION
The third in Mike Plante’s Home Movie Show is ten minutes of calm as three animators just draw. With Brent Green (Gravity Was Everywhere Back Then), Julia Pott (Belly), Kataneh Vahdani (Avocados).
by Scott Macaulay on Apr 9, 2012 -
GHOSTHUNTING AT SUNDANCE
Take that, SyFy Channel! Producer, distributor, Cinemad founder, Sundance programmer and occasional Filmmaker contributor has passed along the second of his “Mike Plante’s Home Movie Show.” In the show notes, he writes: “Sundance 2012 filmmakers Brent Green, Don Hertzfeldt, Nicholas McCarthy and David Zellner go searching for ghosts in Park City. We find some ghosts but learn more about people who want to see ghosts.” If you are paranormally-inclined, check it out.
by Scott Macaulay on Mar 30, 2012 -
PLATFORMS, PMD’S & PERPETUATING OBSCURITY
Our innovation is stagnant. Stagnant and boring. Really. Boring. The movies themselves are one thing having long been locked into a race to the bottom with their Hollywood counterparts in an often times futile effort to just be noticed, but most stagnant and boring is the proliferation of new ‘platforms’ on which filmmakers can ‘launch’ their careers. Everywhere I look there is some new upstart looking to get into the digital distribution realm touting how their platform puts the power in your hands and provides a direct gateway for your film to reach an audience. A claim which, of course, […]
by Gregorybayne on Sep 19, 2011 -
KICKSTARTER: “BE LIKE AN ANT”
Rocks. That’s what you get when you support Mike Plante’s hour-long portrait film, Be Like An Ant. But they aren’t just everyday rocks. They are rocks from underneath the subject of the film’s home, and he has selected, polished and cut them. Here’s how Plante describes his project: The story: Post-Vietnam, Paul bought a trailer for his family to live in. Annoyed by how bad living inside a mobile home during winter could be, he took matters into his own hands and started to build a house – around the trailer. He never made any blueprints. As the house took […]
by Scott Macaulay on Apr 25, 2011
